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Monday, 5 October 2015

Saying no to a blood transfusion

As I have alluded to before I have a friend who is a Jehovah's witness and as such I thought I would address the issue of blood transfusions as I have actually said to my friend that I think it is mental that he (and the Watchtower Organization) believes that blood transfusions are a bad idea. As I mentioned in one of my recent Bible posts, the reason that Jehovah's witnesses are against blood transfusions is supported by the Bible. These verses are given here for full clarity and they are:
Genesis 9:4 "Only flesh with its life—its blood—you must not eat."
Deutoronomy 12:23 "Just be firmly resolved not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the flesh."
Acts 15:28-29 "For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!”"
So, as one can see if you take the Bible as Gods word it really is that simple to deny yourself blood transfusion as you are essentially taking part of the blood and God does not want you take part of the blood. However, if we are to take the Bible as Gods word then we need to have hard proof that the Bible is the word of God and that God in fact exists. Both of these pieces of evidence are lacking and as such the desire to not take a blood transfusion is completely irrational.

The Watchtower Organization does go into details that some doctors are starting to come around that a blood transfusion is not always the best idea and should be avoided if possible. Now I will not deny that a blood transfusion can be dangerous, as you could get infected by something that is undetectable. However, doctors in the modern age usually only give transfusions when there is only one option beside transfusion and that is death. In fact Jehovah's witnesses have helped improve medicine by getting doctors to focus on bloodless surgery as well, doctors like to keep their patients alive. Please note that it is not only Jehovah's witnesses that deny themselves blood transfusions, there are also other people worried about transmission of disease that would rather die than take the risk of a transfusion.

Now, I will be frank I think this whole idea of blood transfusion refusal is stupid. However, I also believe an adult has the choice to die if they want. This has in fact happened recently when Adeline Keh refused herself a blood transfusion and died leaving her new born baby boy in the care of a distraught father. Do I think she was an idiot, yes I do but she had the right to do this idiocy to herself. On the other hand, to stop a child receiving a blood transfusion is just shocking as happened recently in Australia. I should point out that some organizations are getting involved to stop the lunacy of willful murder of children that are not able to decide for themselves if they want a blood transfusion.

In closing, I have told my friend that if there is ever a need a blood transfusion and he cannot speak for himself I will try my darnedest to get one for him. Granted this will be against his will, but hey I am yet to be convinced that God exists and this view is based on God. Basically, I think an alive friend that does not speak to me is better than a dead friend that cannot speak at all.